Burberry concedes it went too far with a hoodie that featured a noose around the neck during London Fashion Week.
Liz Kennedy, the model who wore the controversial item on the runway, led the charge against it afterward, saying her backstage objections to the accessory were ignored. The retailer has since removed the item from its collection.
“We are deeply sorry for the distress caused by one of the products that featured in our A/W 2019 runway collection Tempest,” said Burberrry CEO Marco Gobbetti in a statement provided to Fortune. He continued: “I called Ms. Kennedy to apologize as soon as I became aware of this on Monday and we immediately removed the product and all images that featured it. Though the design was inspired by the marine theme that ran throughout the collection, it was insensitive and we made a mistake. The experience Ms. Kennedy describes does not reflect who we are and our values. We will reflect on this, learn from it and put in place all necessary actions to ensure it does not happen again.”
Burberry is the latest in what seems like an industry wide trolling and or insensitivity of black history during Black History Month. The questions remain, despite these apologies what will we as consumers do?